Senate Republicans Vote Against Increased Funds for Election Security

States have been asking the federal government to provide more funding in order to increase security in voting systems in the lead up to the 2018 elections, but Republicans in Congress refuse to do it. Today, an amendment to allocate $250 million for election security was rejected by the Senate on partisan lines.

Senator Patrick Leahy who introduced the bill wrote, “It is time that we heed the clear warning of the intelligence community and take action. It is our obligation to take these attacks on our states seriously, and to step in with the necessary resources to defend our elections.”

The amendment was rejected in a 50-to-47 vote, far short of the 60 votes needed to pass. Senator Bob Corker was the only Republican to vote in favor.

Last week, 21 state attorneys general sent a letter to congressional leaders saying additional funding was necessary to prevent the type of hacking that was seen in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. That letter followed a vote in the House on July 19 in which Republicans set aside legislation that would renew $380 million earmarked for election security in 2018.

Following a trillion-dollar tax cut for the rich, and the Trump administration considering an additional $100 billion dollar giveaway to the wealthy, it’s pretty obvious that refusing $250 million dollars for election security has nothing to do with being fiscally responsible.